Wednesday, February 24, 2010

A gentleman wanted to show me this quilt. A woman in Virginia found it and sent to to a small church in the Vinings area. It was made by her mother and her quilting friends around 1933 - the date is stitched into the quilt top, thank goodness. The name of each quilter is stitched onto the block she made, so it's almost a roll call of who attended the church at that time.

The quilt was sent to the church and lay unnoticed for some years until a member found it and had it framed. It now hangs in a prominent position and will be dedicated soon.

I was pleased that the gentleman wanted to show me the quilt. I recognized a name or two because they, or their daughter, was one of my elementary school teachers.

The church has quite a history, too, and an unusually high number of prominent members from the local community. It was a pleasant hour I spent listening to the history of this small church. I have driven by there for years and always wondered about it's history. I was pleased to learn I had a very slight connection to it.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Here are some possibilities I'm considering... not exactly 50's style but still vintage:

All in silk charmeause. Beautiful!

By the way, that is a fabulous movie. It is so well done and well written, you will be routing for the bad guy. And when you figure out exactly who the bad guy is, let me know, will you? None of the three main male characters is exactly a good guy and frankly, I didn't much care what happened to them. But the two women, especially Cate Blanchette, are so true and real in this film. You just feel their hurt and confusion. I don't like Paltrow but have to admit she is superb in this film. It's one of my favorites, creepy as it is.

My Winter Mini Quilt is ready for quilting. This is from a free snowman pattern here. So cute. I added some scraps from the pillowcase fabric Debra sent me for the border.

Here's the latest stack of pillowcases which will be on their way to Afghanistan soon. There are 34 cases in this stack, and I was able to cram them all into one box this morning. Of course afterwards I realized I needed to line it with plastic first so we'll see if I can repeat that amazing accomplishment. There are seventeen cases from Jackie in Alabama - and I'm sorry, I don't know her blog or I would link to her.

These are just three of the great pillowcases Jackie made. I love the dog/cat print! Someone will be cheered by these.

I've had a lot of fun with the pillowcases. I think it's the thrill of accomplishment and that they are going to a such a deserving group of men and women.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Last night I tried to capture the beauty of the snow in the dark. It was absolutely breathtaking, especially since we don't see snow like this very often here in the South. The snow fell continuously for hours, starting about 1 pm in the afternoon. So we all got to watch everything turn white.

It's aggravating since we're not equipped to deal with it and either brave the icy roads or sit at home feeling guilty about not slipping and sliding to whatever place we think can't make it without us for one day.

But it's worth it.

Do people up North, where this kind of weather hardly gets noticed, get this excited in August over the humidity? Do they go out and take pictures of people sweating?

My Life Under The Bus (Patricia?) hosted a Felt Smackdown - a challenge using Salley Mavor as inspiration. Can I resist a challenge? Apparently not. Here is my little entry:

I really just wanted an excuse to work with wool and to buy Salley's book but it wasn't at the bookstore so I'll have to do Amazon. I hate paying shipping.

This was a piece she used for a little pouch but I'll just frame him and hang him up at work. I love working with wool and embroidery.

If you haven't seen Salley Mavor's work, you should take a look. It is truly wonderful. I am so grateful to artists like her, who work for years perfecting a technique, then so generously share with people like me who haven't the talent or patience. Thank you Salley.